amon tobin - Austin Town Hall

The IT Department – v0.9

August 10, 2011 brian.gray 2 comments

I would like to thank the Council for appointing me the head of the IT Department. The IT Department at Austin Town Hall will be the place for the more electronic side of the industry. IT will cover Electro, Dance Pop, straight up Electronica, whatever. IT will be synth driven, but not always purely synthetic.

This is the beta run with v0.9, so I’ll be taking the chance to catch you up on a few of my favorites of the year so far. This post has some big names, a few unknowns and some pure drum and bass. So click through for tracks from the Horrors, Little Dragon and Amon Tobin as well as a couple newcomers.

Edit: Adding one more track from Casiokids…

Tunes

Friday Top 5: Live Set Design

May 27, 2011 jon.wagner One comment

When attending a concert, the music can often be only a part of the overall equation. Setting is an enhancement or detriment to the overall experience. With the blissfully tranquil setting of Sasquatch Fest around the corner, my mind began to wonder. Setting in a natural area is often the easiest way to enhance a mood. However, sometimes an artist wants to personally expand on the themes written through song in a live setting, and that’s when the set design becomes more and more elaborate. When the design just comes out as self-aggrandizing and strange, it distracts the audience from the show. Take for instance Kanye’s theoretical Ferrero Rocher Gold wrapper design or Bowie’s giant spider. There is certainly a fine line here. Nevertheless, in some instances bigger, brighter, and complex structures work to frame a show that can be talked about years after the fact. On that note, here’s the FT5 of most badass, over the top Set Designs.